Today at 8:00 PM (Italy time) I will be praying to my patron Saint, St. Joseph. Please feel free to join the prayer
“Glorious St. Joseph, model of all who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work conscientiously by placing love of duty above my inclinations; to gratefully and joyously deem it an honor to employ and to develop by labor the gifts I have received from God, to work methodically, peacefully, and in moderation and patience, without ever shrinking from it through weariness or difficulty to work; above all, with purity of intention and unselfishness, having unceasingly before my eyes the account I have to render of time lost, talents unused, good not done, and vain complacency in success, so baneful to the work of God. O patriarch St. Joseph! This shall be my motto for life and eternity.”

It is important to pray in Islam,too. Actually you can understand it Paulo.. If we are parts of a whole, then there must be only one religion. Please, just think about it. It is useless for Christians and Muslims and Jewish to fight. It has no meaning.. The God is unique. We all know this. And Muhammed is the last prophet. There is only one religion and many updates for it. And I think Islam is the latest update, that is clear. Kur-an is accepted as the most important miracle of our prophet in our religion. And this must have a meaning. I am thinking about it. I am just following the signs as you say my friend.
Love from Istanbul..
I wanted to meet you here but I couldn’t find out where you are.. I would like to see you and talk about the issues face to face..

Friend,
I quite agree with you, most religions would do well to recognize the fact that we are walking different paths but seeking the same goals. I find small pieces of the divine in many of the religions that I study. There is only ‘one religion’ but some people choose to worship in different ways. I also believe we, all being seekers of Truth, need to learn to respect that others have the right to find their own way.
Perhaps more people would explore Islam if it were not for the stigma applied to those who convert from Islam to another religion. Certainly, anyone who accepts/adopts a belief system different from that of their family and friends will experience a degree of alienation. But those who choose to leave Islam are marked as Apostates and shunned. The freedom of religion is a recognized human right – at least recognized by the UN Commission on Human Rights. Yet in many (10+) Islamic nations it is still punishable by death. It is not so in my country or yours. Still, I see the degree to which those near me can be ostracized if they leave Islam to seek their own truth. And quite honestly, it is scary.
I would like to study Islam more. I’m sure there is a great deal of Truth to be found in the Qur’an (Kur-an?) But I do not tread where I am not welcome… I do not seek to offend. But I go where my path takes me. For some of us no words, in any book whether it be written in our own tongue or not, will ever be enough. Some of those words are hundreds, even thousands of years old – that doesn’t mean they’re wrong. But as you said yourself, there are many updates. Don’t get me wrong, there are many outmoded rules in many otherwise great religions. This one is what I believe holds some people back from learning to pray in Islam.

Friend,
I understand what you mean and I feel sorry about it. Because Islamic Countries and their governments do wrong! They don’t know anything about the true Islamic vision. In my country, people have been reading the Qur’an in Arabic without knowing what it tells about for hundreds of years. Because we don’t speak Arabic here, our language is Turkish. They read it after a dead person. That’s all! It is not for dead it is for living people, but they are not even aware. I mean, Muslims are despised all over the world because they are mostly uncultured and illeterate. The fault belongs to people, not to the religion itself. It is waiting to be understood.
Our prophet Muhammed is the only figure in Islam. Today’s leaders or figures or traditions or ill habits mean nothing to true Islam. And Muhammed called himself as “the father of the girls”. He became a prophet at a time when the girl children were buried alive. He stopped this tradition. His generation is continuing on Earth only on his daughter’s blood. And now, think about today’s “woman” figure in Islam. Women mean nothing! And this is what I mean. There are many things misunderstood about Islam.
Muhammed also says: “You can do whatever you want, you can behave however you like. But You should know that, whatever you do, you will get the same in return.” He means, you are free. If you do good, you will get it back, if you do wrong you will get it back. This is the meaning of freedom, isn’t it?
Death punishment for having another belief has nothing to do with Islam, it is about the evil minds. Our prophet fought for his religions liberty, not to kill. And after the war, he let the captured soldiers learn to read and write. They didn’t believe in Islam. But as far as I know, he didn’t kill them. Instead, he tried to teach them. And Ä°f someone is Muslim, he must follow Muhammed’s way. Killing somebody is among the seven major sins in Islam. Did you know that?

My new friend,
In all honesty, I did not know that. However, it does not surprise me. Many Americans are misinformed about Islam. For myself, I would like to learn more about Islam, if for no other reason than to gain a better perspective on the beliefs of my brothers in other nations. Unfortunately, There have been extremists on both sides who discourage the kind of discussion we are having here. As I sit here, I am watching a television program about how some Christians are persecuting Muslims in my country. America, the country in which the freedom of religion is the First right given to citizens.
I am truly embarrassed by the reaction some of my fellow Americans have had in response to the events that occurred ten years ago when a few radical Muslims attacked the USA. (Many Americans seem to forget that we have quite a few radical Christians.) When I speak to someone like you, who recognizes that violence has no place in worship, it only strengthens my resolve to learn more about Islam and denounce those who would persecute it in my homeland. I did not even bring up the topic of women’s rights and yet you mentioned that there are some Muslim nations that mistreat women under the false label of ‘Shariah law’ – this is what we in the USA need to see and hear… That Islam is not a religion of hate, but one of love. These acts of hate are not the will of God but rather the acts of evil men.

My new friend Aysegul,
I tried to post a reply earlier this evening but it has not gone through. If you would be agreeable, I would like to talk about this further… you can contact me at cancyrus ‘at’ gmail.com.

Wonderful Prayer !! Somehow I too feel greatly attached to St.Joseph and being born on March 19th , St.Joseph’s feast, I felt happy and proud saying the prayer of my guardian saint !!Thankyou for the wonderful prayer !!

Thanks for placing this prayer. I prayed – although I did not catch your 8:00pm time. I’ve prayed because I’ve lost hope – and I need it back. For my children’s sake – I need it back! I feel that God is testing my strenght for the last 3 years, and I’m tired! If it wasn’t for my boys, I’d be tired of living. I live for them and I sacrifice for them. I live for all the people who are suffering and struggling with cancer. Someone once said: “God does not give you more than you can handle.” I wish He wouldn’t trust me so much!

Dear Paolo
Congratulations with St. Joseph! He is also my Guardian-Angel. I had a very special dream about him in 1993.
The whole day I was burning candles to him and I told him how gratefull I am for all the protection last year.
All the best for you!
Rikje Maria Ruiter
Spiritual Center The Eight-Corner
Utrecht
The Netherlands

writing this at this time, I know that you are all partying now & enjoying the time in istanbul.
have fun! <3
paulo, nice prayer. wish, you could have a page on your blog with a collection of your prayers. they are like little flowers.

Sir, please you also for my daughter Catherine and all the teenagers who are looking at the depth of the global crisis are losing faith in the future, do not want to identify with the hypocritical consumer society, and believe or not believe in the Church and find their life’s journey with God in a way, you are the intercession of Saint Joseph’s cherished and led.

French into English
St Joseph, pray for us. Light of the Patriarchs, pray for us. Husband of the Mother of God, pray for us. Guardian of the Virgin, pray for us. Mother of the Son of God, pray for us. Chief of the Holy Family, pray for us.
Joseph, most just,pray for us, Joseph the very courageous, pray for us. Mirror of patience, pray for us.
Model of workers, pray for us. Glory of Family Life, pray for us.